Get ready for saturation radio coverage of the Cleveland Browns this year

The fact the Browns are switching radio partners isn't a big surprise.With commitments to the Indians and Cavaliers, Clear Channel — which had held broadcast rights for the Browns since they returned in 1999 — had more than a full plate of professional sports coverage on its airwaves.When Clear Channel's contract expired with the Browns heading into the 2013 season, the franchise that knows it's the biggest game in town — no matter how bad it struggles on game day — figured to want to be the biggest game on the radio, too.What has transpired, however, is unique in NFL circles.Multiple sources have confirmed what The News-Herald first reported Tuesday night: WKNR-AM, 850; WKRK-FM, 92.3; and WNCX-FM, 98.5 will split the rights to broadcast Browns games this season.WNCX, like WKRK, is a CBS Radio affiliate. WKNR is part of Good Karma Broadcasting, a Beaver Dam, Wis.-based company that owns 12 radio stations, including a pair of ESPN affiliates in Cleveland (WKNR and KNR2-AM, 1540).

Yes, the Browns, who have the unique ability to both torture and excite their fans 365 days a year, have brought the two all-sports talk stations in Cleveland — WKNR and The Fan — together for a long-term radio rights deal.The Fan made its Cleveland debut on Aug. 29, 2011, and immediately became WKNR's biggest rival.Many of us wondered if there was room for two all-sports stations in this market.The answer: Yes. Enough room, in fact, for the two to come together for a deal that might be the first of its kind in the NFL.According to sources, the three stations — WKNR, WKRK and WNCX — will air the Browns' games.WKNR will host a four-hour show that will serve as the “official” Browns pregame show, and The Fan will air a two-hour Browns postgame show.Both stations can still have call-in shows on game day — The Fan prior to the game, and WKNR after the contest — but they won't serve as the team's official pre- or postgame show.

Browns coach Rob Chudzinski will have a weekly coach's show that will be simulcasted on WKNR and The Fan, and “Cleveland Browns Daily” will expand from one to two hours per day, Monday through Friday. Multiple sources say the latter show, hosted by Browns senior editor Vic Carucci, will remain on WKNR.All told, there will be more than 1,000 combined hours of Browns coverage on WKNR and The Fan each year. That's an increase of more than 400 hours per year from the past agreement.It might seem like overkill, but as WKNR and The Fan have repeatedly proven, Browns fans never get tired of talking — or yelling — about their team.Now they have many more opportunities to do so — on rival stations that will be partners in what seems to be a very creative deal.

Good times at GKB

It's been a good month for Good Karma Broadcasting founder and CEO Craig Karmazin.In addition to the Browns radio rights deal that is expected to be announced Thursday, the GKB president recently was selected as one of Sports Business Journal's “Forty Under 40” honorees. The magazine and website, Sports Business Daily, annually recognize the most promising executives in sports business.GKB's 12 stations include nine ESPN affiliates — WKNR, KNR2, two ESPN Milwaukee stations, two ESPN Madison (Wis.) stations, a pair of affiliates in West Palm Beach, Fla., and one in Janesville, Wis. GKB also has a rock-and-roll station in Janesville, and news and country stations in its home office of Beaver Dam, Wis.You can follow me on Twitter for sports information, analysis and almost enough Browns chatter to satisfy a Cleveland sports fan.

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